Sick
by CherryBlossoms38
Summary: Sakura gets a very serious and deadly illness. How will Sasuke and the rest of team 7 cope? SasuSaku ON HIATUS
1. The Beginning

**Sick**

The sun poured through the small, window, landing on the peaceful face of Haruno Sakura. With the sun's bright touch, her face scrunched up, trying to get rid of the uninvited light while at the same time turning over to escape it. Lazily, she cracked an emerald orb open and glance at the digital clock. The numbers glowed 7:23 in a ruby red. With a moan, she kicked the covers off, her skin shivering to the cool air present in the room. Slowly, she crawled out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom to take a most wanted hot shower. A small smile appeared on her lips at the thought. 20 minutes later, Sakura reappeared in a white cotton towel, her pastel pink hair plastered to her neck. As she headed towards her dresser, the room started spinning and a wave of nausia came over her. Her legs buckled underneath her and she collasped to the ground, her arms being the only part of her body supporting her. Her skin felt hot and sticky all over. But as soon as it came, it disappeared. With renewed streangth, she got up, only to be face-to-face with her clock, which read 7:55.

-"Crap. I'm going to be late. Kakashi-sensei is rubbing off on me." She muttered to herself as she proceded to get dress. Once she was all dressed and ready, she glanced at her clock wich read 8:00, causing her eyes to widen and make her run towards the training grounds, skipping breakfast all together. Her breaths were coming out in gasps and her muscles were burning when she got at the training grounds. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her but nothing more.

-"Good pant morning pant Sasuke pant -kun" Sakura greeted while catching her breath.

-"Hn," he replied.

With a small sigh, Sakura decided to muse on her thoughts.

_-'I wonder when Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are going to get here...'_

_-_**'I see the dobe running to us right now. Kakashi-sensei on the other hand, who knows.'**

_-'I hope tod-'_

A loud "OHAYOU SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE-TEME!" broke her train of thoughts, causing her to flinch from the sudden blaring noise. Sasuke on the other hand, was glaring murderously at Naruto for being so loud. With an angry growl (on Sakura's part) and an angry sounding "Tch", the two both pummled Nsruto on the head.

-"Itai.." Naruto whinned, nursing the big bump on his (empty) head. "What did you do that for!"

-"For being loud", they muttered in unison.

-"I wonder when-" Sakura was interrupted by her sensei who poofed on to one of the blood red arches that was on the bridge.

-"Yo," He said with a smile. "I'm late because, well.. This old lady needed my help and-"

-"You liar Kakashi-sensei! I can't believe you just can't..." and that's how Naruto's pointless yelling fit started.

-"What a loser" Sasuke mumbled and Sakura nodded in silent agreement.

-"...and you have the WORST exscuses ever!" Naruto exclaimed, finishing the one-sided argument.

-"Is that all?"

-"..Yeah." Naruto murmered.

-"Good. For today, we're going to go to see if there are any missions available." He announced.

-"Yeah! Alright! I am so going to finish it before you Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shrieked.

-"Yeah, whatever dobe" Came Sasuke's reply.

-"What does it ma-" Sakura stopped midsentence because violent coughs took control of her body, catching everyone's attention.

-"Sakura? are you all right?" Kakashi asked, worried. Just more violent coughs in reply.

-"Sakura-chan!?" Naruto asked (yelled) with concern. After a few seconds, the coughs died down to gasps of air. Sakura was covered in sticky, moist sweat that rolled down her body. Her legs were sprawled out in different directions and her usually gleaming, cheerful eyes held terror. Sasuke walked over (being the only person out of the three who had moved since the coughs started) and squated down to her level.

-"Sakura? Are you alright?" In response, she shook her head, her pink locks following. Sasuke sighed and grabbed her hands to help her up. But when his hands touched hers, he froze. On his hands, he felt something wet and warm. When he looked down, he saw that her hands were covered in blood from her coughing fits.

-"Sakura, what's happening to you?" Sasuke whispered.

-"I don't know, Sasuke-kun. I don't know"


	2. The Sickness

Urgently, Sasuke hoisted her on to his back (much like a piggy-back ride), surprising both Naruto and Kakashi.

-"Teme! What they hell are you doing!"

-"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

-"Just follow me." And with that, Sasuke sped off, his two comerades in pursuit. Pumping indigo chakra into his feet, Sasuke willed himself to go faster towards his destination. In a few minutes, they arived to where'd they hoped to be. Stopping, Sasuke looked back to see if his comerades had followed him. Kakashi was standing there cooly, questions written all over the visible part of his face. Naruto however was no where to be seen.

-"What's wrong with Sakura? If you tell me Sasuke, I'll go look for Naruto while you take care of Sakura." Kakashi asked, staring at the large hospital in front of him.

Sasuke, who was edging to get in there and help his fallen comerade decided to comply. Sakura had fallen unconcsious anyway, so her dead weight was starting to make her hard to hold up.

-"Sakura coughed up blood so I'm taking her here to get help" And with that he walked inside the sliding doors of the hospital, leaving Kakashi shocked

_'She has internal bleeding. But what could of caused it?'_

Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, Kakashi sighed and started looking for Naruto, where ever he may be.

As Sasuke entered the hospital, he saw that it was nearly empty. The floor tiles were a forest green while the wall was a pale white. Pictures of nurse's and doctor's adorned its walls. The head nurse was at a square, light brown desk quietly reading a novel. Sasuke quietly cleared his throat to catch the nurse's attention. Which he did.

-"Yes how may I-" She stopped looking at him and Sakura and immediately jumped to her feet. "What happened!?" She exclaimed.

-"She coughed up blood and passed out. I think she needs medical attention."

With a nod, the nurse picked up a phone that was to her right and dialed a doctor's extention. She muttered a few words to the person on the other line before pausing and asking him,

-"How old are you and the girl? And what are your names?"

-"We're both 12. She is Haruno Sakura and I am Uchiha Sasuke."

She nodded and continued to talk for another few minutes before she hung up. Once she did, a doctor walked through the double doors pushing a lime green stretcher. He gave a nod and Sasuke carefully layed Sakura on the stretcher. The doctor then turned around and pushed the stretcher back through the double doors that serperated the hall buzzing with people (mainly doctors) to the waiting room that was nerarly lifeless.

-"Our doctors are going to test her to see what's wrong with her. But it's going to take a few hours so I suggest you do something to past the time. But you can stay here if you want."

Sasuke nodded and sat on a nearby chair and decided to wait it out. Any way, he could use some peace and quiet seeing that his loudmouth teammate and perverted sensei weren't here. But the peace didn't last. Only 10 minutes after he arived, Naruto burst through the door yelling like crazy.

-"WHAT HAPPENED TO-" he never was able to finish because a large hand clamped over him mouth.

-"Naruto we're in a hospital so no yelling, alright?" Kakashi mumered. Naruto nodded and Kakashi let go.

-"So Sasuke," Kakashi asked quite casually,"Where's our Cherry Blossom right now?"

-"She's being tested for whatever illness she may have." Sasuke answered.

-"How long will that take?" Naruto asked.

-"A few hours."

Naruto was left shocked. "A few HOURS!? HOW AM I-" This time Sasuke thrashed his head rendering him unconcsious.

-"Was that really necessary?" Kakashi inquired. Sasuke nodded in reply and did nothing more.

_Three hours later..._

Kakashi was reading Itcha Itcha Paradise while Sasuke was lost in his own thoughts when Naruto started to regain concsiousness. Slowly, his eyes opened up, revealing cerulean orbs.He than sat up and flinched when his head started throbbing.

-"Itai...what happened?" He muttered. Suddenly all of the memories of the day's past events flooded back to him, causing him to glare at Sasuke who just smirked in response. The small, one-sided glaring contest was interrupted when a doctor walked through the double doors, Sakura trailing behind, her coral bangs covering her eyes. Both doctor and patient looked very solemn. At once, all three boys noticed Sakura, each boy glad that she was "okay".

-"Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Sakura made no response to Naruto's comment.

-"Sakura?" Sasuke mumbled. Kakashi observed Sakura, how she was silent, depressed, and unresponding. All in all, Kakashi figured something was not right. The doctor was standing quite patiently, waiting for all comments to finish. When all had stopped, he cleared his throat and began speaking.

-"After many tests, we have come to the diagnosis of Haruno Sakura. What I am about to say may anger-" He was interrupted by Naruto who was getting ticked off.

-"Just hurry up and say it!" No one quieted him down because, they too, wanted to hear what was wrong with Sakura. The doctor just glared at Naruto (who glared back) and sighed.

_-"Sakura has leukemia"_


	3. A Day Out

Everything stopped. No sound was made as the males of team 7 stood there, shocked. Naruto was the first to come to his senses and when he did, he pitied Sakura more than anything.

-"Sakura," He whispered, " Sakura-chan can't have that. No, you're lying. Sakura-chan is more than healthy." He whispered to himself, denying the truth.

-"I'm sorry but that's the truth. To be more exact, Sakura has Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia; or ALL for short. For treatment, we're going to use chemotherapy which does have its side effects, but will increase her survival rates. We will start the treatment next week. Let me also tell you this: different people respond differently to the treatment so there are no guarantee's. I shall see you, Sakura, next week. The rest of you may come, but you will have to wait in the waiting room during the treatment. Have a nice day." With out even a glance, he quickly walked through the double doors to attend other work.

Sakura, who had been deathly silence this entire time, finally decided to break the silence.

-" You wanna go eat at Inchiraku's?" She asked, **smiling** at her peers. Besides Kakashi (who's gaze softened) team 7 looked at her as if she said "Naruto's so quiet; you'd never even know if he was standing right next to you." Seeing their shocked expressions, she sighed and explained herself.

-"I want to enjoy my life, even with this disease of mine. No matter what the side effects are of this treatment are, I'm not going to let it stop my dreams from happening. So... You coming or not?"

Naruto, who had before been pitying Sakura from the news he had just received, had now started to admire her (A/N not in a romantic way. Sorry NaruSaku fans.) for her will to keep on living life. With a very loud, "YEAH! Ramen!" (which earned him a glare from the head nurse), Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura set off for Ichiraku. But Sasuke stood behind them, not moving because he was lost in his thought. (A/N he does that a lot, doesn't he?)

_-'Sakura, I'm glad that you're alright and happy. I truly envy your happiness."_

"Sasuke-kun? You coming?" Sakura called, being quite a distance (along with everybody else) from the said Uchiha. Sasuke nodded, a rare, small smile graced his lips as he began his regular pace towards his _friends_. Once he caught up they all started walking again; Sakura and Naruto chatting in the front while Sasuke and Kakashi strolled at the back.

-"Back at the hospital, Sasuke what were you thinking about?" asked his perverted sensei.

-"None of your business," Sasuke mumbled quietly. Kakashi said no more, deciding he didn't want to make the stubborn Uchiha leave because of him and end up hurting Sakura's feelings. As soon as the small noodle bar came into view, Naruto took off as if his life depended on it. At this, team 7 sweat dropped. By the time the rest of team 7 got to Ichiraku, Naruto was already half way done with his miso soup. The owner and his daughter immediately noticed them and proceeded to greet them.

-"Hello and how may we help you?" they asked in unison.

-"Pork please." Sakura said.

-"Same as hers," Sasuke muttered.

-"And you sir?" The daughter (A/N I don't know her name. Does she even have one?) asked Kakashi politely, seeing how he hasn't ordered yet.

-"I do not want anything, arigatou." Kakashi replied. With a nod, her grandfather and her disappeared to the back, giving out the orders. During this, team 7 was silent (minus the continuous slurping from Naruto), reflecting on the days events. What broke them out of this...reflection of sorts, was the soft thump of dishes being placed on wood.

-"Enjoy your meal!" The man said merrily. In response, Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

With a loud "itadakimasu!" Sakura dug into her meal quite fast. Being told that you had a serious disease really made you hungry, huh? Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her childish antics but started eating as well. After a few minutes, Sakura came up with an idea.

-"Hey guys!" Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke looked at her, wondering what she wanted. "Why don't we play a game! And whoever loses has to pay!" Sasuke smirked at the challenge while Kakashi chuckled, already knowing what the pink haired girl was up to. Naruto had just finished his 4th bowl when the idea popped up.

-"What sorta game, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked excited by the prospect of Sasuke having to pay for food. Now, Sakura's eyes held an evil glint at the question.

-"This!" and with that, Sakura and Kakashi made a hand seal and disappeared in a cloud of puffy, white smoke. Sasuke catching on quickly, followed on with the "game" and disappeared too. Naruto was left, staring at the (now empty) bar stools. He was left alone now and to make it worse, he was also dead broke.

_-'I shouldn't of spent all my money on last night's dinner! Crap!'_ A worried look fell upon his usual happy features. But before he could even get off the bar stool, the man appeared with a gleaming smile.

-"That'll be 10,000 yen," (A/N is that too much?) the man informed, holding out his hand.

With a sigh, Naruto answered, "I'm broke..." The man's cheery smile broke into a fierce frown as he grabbed Naruto and put him in the back to work off his meal. Naruto went without struggling because this wasn't the first time it had happened. Man he hated being broke.

With a POOF!, Kakashi appeared inside his small home. He chuckled to himself and said,

-"Naruto's got a lot to learn." He then got out Itcha Itcha Paradise and started reading, pink appearing on his cheeks on more than one occasion. Pervert.

Sasuke appeared right in front of a training ground. Taking off his shirt, Sasuke decided he do some exercises before getting to the _real _training. Boys will be boys.

Sakura's whole body was trembling from her recent coughing fit. Blood was leaking out of her hand (which was currently clamped to her mouth) in rivers. And she nearly made it too. To her house I mean. Right now, she was outside her house, in her current situation. Shaking her head vigorously, Sakura slowly got to her feet, using whatever was next to her for support; which was currently a lamp post. She then continued taking slow but steady steps towards her house to have a bath to wash out the day's filth. All the while she was thinking,

_'Why me?'_


	4. The Treatment

The stars twinkled brightly in the pitch black sky. Obviously, night time had settled over the Leaf Village, sending its inhabitants to their dreams. But tonight, at three-thirty nine A.M., Sakura, as try as she might, could not fall asleep. It was either the leukemia or the fact that the chemotherapy was today, she did not know. With a frustrated growl, Sakura angrily kicked her covers off, sending them tumbling to the hard wood floor. She then stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

_'Maybe if I eat something I might be able to fall asleep.'_

Minutes later, a simple bowl of cereal sat on the glossy counter. Sakura was quietly eating the contents of the bowl, the cold milk washing down her throat was a pleasant feeling. Slowly, she felt her eyes droop and she smile at the thought of sleep. Drowsily, Sakura stumbled through her house, hitting various objects on the way. Finally, she reached her room and immediately started to head towards her bed. Once inside, she snuggled up to her cotton filled pillows and drifted off to sleep.

_Hours later at six o' seven in the morning_

A chorus of soft knocks on her door awoke Sakura from her sleep. Almost immediately, her face scrunched up in anger. Kicking off her covers (quite forcefully, too) she ran downstairs (A/N Sakura's house is two stories, okay?), ready to pulverize whoever woke her up. Unlocking the door's many metal locks, Sakura pulled the door open to come face-to-face to Naruto who, in fact, looked horrible. His blond locks were matted and he had bags under his azure eyes. At the sight of him, Sakura's face softened and she gave him a questioning look.

-"Naruto? You look terrible! Why are you here?" Sakura questioned. Naruto gave a sheepish grin.

-"I couldn't sleep, Sakura-chan. I guess I was nervous about today. I thought you'd be awake, too." He replied.

-"Nervous? What are you nervous about?" The stare she got from Naruto told her the answer. "Oh...That. If anyone, I should be nervous about today. I mean, **I'm** the one getting the treatment, not you. So you have nothing to worry about." Sakura said, trying to raise the boy's crestfallen spirits. It brought a small smile to his lips but nothing else. Seeing this, Sakura decided to compromise.

-" Okay then. How 'bout we get Ichiraku ramen later?" At the mention of Ichiraku ramen, Naruto was grinning from ear to ear, his cobalt eyes twinkling happily.

-"Really, Sakura-chan! Really?!"

Sakura grinned a small grin "Really. And I'll pay. How about you come to my house in an hour?" Ecstatic nods followed by a wave. Naruto was leaving to go back to his house. Sakura waved back and proceeded to get ready for the breakfast of sorts. It was six-fifteen in the morning, after all.

_One hour later..._

Sakura's ears perked at the muffled sound of Naruto's voice behind her door. Smiling at his antics, Sakura went to go greet him. Opening the door, Naruto was revealed to be grinning happily, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Next to him was _Sasuke?_

- "Sasuke-kun? Why are you here?" Sakura asked, surprised at her (anti-social) friend's appearance.

- "Hn." Sakura shrugged her shoulders but accepted the answer anyway. The three stood in an awkward silence. That is, until Naruto broke it. Very loudly.

- "What are we standing here for?! Let's go to Ichiraku already!" Naruto yelled as he ran towards said place. Sakura held in barely contained rage, her body trembling with the effort. Sasuke just raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he started a slow pace towards Ichiraku.

_'Why does Naruto have to be so loud in the morning?'_

Taking a deep breath, Sakura calmed herself down and ran to catch up with Sasuke. They walked side-by-side, in sync. Finally, after five minutes of walking, Sakura and Sasuke came upon Ichiraku. Sitting next to Naruto (who was slurping his 2nd bowl), they mumbled their order (spicy chicken for Sasuke; shrimp for Sakura) and waited patiently. Besides Naruto slurping, their was an uncomfortable silence between team 7. But Naruto broke it, staring at the broth of his ramen.

- "Hey, Sakura-chan?"

- "Yes Naruto?"

- "When is your... appointment?" He finished hesitantly. Seeing her friend's distressed expression, Sakura decided to lighted the atmosphere.

- "It's today at one o' clock. But don't worry," She smiled and placed her hand on his which brought him to look at her. She smiled. "I'll be fine." (A/N: There's some slight NaruSaku for you, NaruSaku fans. Rejoice.)

- "Right." Naruto murmured. The sound of money slammed onto the hardwood bar, startling both Naruto and Sakura.

- "Sasuke-kun?"

- "Let's go." Sasuke replied, already standing to leave. Sakura joined him while Naruto looked around franticly.

- "You mean we're just going to LEAVE our unfinished ramen?!" He exclaimed. Sakura sighed in embarrassment and started walking towards the training grounds.

- "Hurry up Naruto! Or you'll be later than Kakashi-sensei!" She called as Naruto was eating what was left of his precious ramen as fast as he could. Finished, a contented sigh escaped his lips as he pat his full belly. His eyes widened when he remembered the situation. Sasuke and Sakura were merely dots now in the distance.

- "SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE-TEME! WAIT FOR ME!" Naruto yelled, sprinting to catch up with his friends, his family (minus Kakashi). Once he caught up, his breathing was ragged but he kept in pace with his companions. After a few minutes walk, the trio came upon Team Seven's training grounds, silver haired sensei included. Sakura and Naruto stood, gaping at their teacher while Sasuke stood off to the side, standing coolly.

- "K-kakashi-sensei... You're-you're early." was all Sakura was able to manage out.

- "Something is up. Kakashi-sensei is **never **early." Naruto summarized, observing his teacher.

- "I should explain myself, shouldn't I?" Naruto and Sakura nodded while Sasuke just stood there.

- "Well, I thought I'd surprise you by showing up on time. But when I came, none of you were here. So I decided to wait for you guys. So, what _were _you guys doing?"

- "We went to Ichiraku." Sasuke replied.

- "Oh? You actually went, Sasuke?"

- "Shut up." Sasuke retorted.

- "Yeah, Sasuke-teme came. He actually _asked_ me if- Itai! What was that for Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto exclaimed, nursing the large bump on his head. He was ignored and he glared at Sasuke who smirked in return.

- "So, Kakashi-sensei?"

- "Yes, Sakura?"

- "What are we doing today?" She asked.

- "**You **aren't doing anything. But Naruto-"

- "What! Why not Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura exclaimed, fuming.

- "Why can't Sakura-chan train with us?" Naruto inquired. Sasuke, too was paying attention. Kakashi's gaze softened at the sight of his pink haired student.

- "Because, Sakura. You're not in the best of health. We- **I **do not want you to get sicker than you already are." His murmur turned into a soft whisper. "I don't want to lose another another precious person." (A/N/ I could end it here but I'll make it longer because I made all my wonderful readers/reviewers wait **oh-so-long **for this chapter.)

_'Kakashi'_ Sasuke thought in sympathy (A/N A very rare thing for Sasuke, mind you. It shows his bond with Kakashi. And if you're thinking romance, you're dead wrong. Sorry KakaSasu fans.)

Naruto smiled a small smile, agreeing with Kakashi whole heartedly. Not that he'd tell Sakura that though.

- "...Sensei... Alright. I'll just sit and watch," Sakura said reluctantly.

- "Thank you."

Sakura leaned on a towering pine tree, its seeds scattered all around her. The sunlight wrapped around her figure, only shining up to her stomach. From there, the tree creates a cooling shade which made her quite comfortable. The breeze carries the sound and smell of Naruto and Sasuke's training with Kakashi. The air smells like _her _boys while she hears every word they speak and every attack they launch. The breeze is caressing her as if to say: S_leep. Go on. Nothing will hurt you. You'll be alright. _And Sakura obeyed. Slowly, she shut her eyes, and she drifted asleep.

- "Wake up Sakura." Sasuke says softly, waking up his only female teammate.

- "...Huh?...Sasuke-kun?" Sakura slurs drowsily. Blinking her eyes to readjust to the light that was not present.

- "What time is it?" Sakura asks, the drowsiness gone as if it wasn't there in the first place. She takes Sasuke's offered hand and stands up. She stretches her sore limbs before getting her answer.

- "It's twelve-fifty." Sakura gasped in realization.

- "My appointment! I'll be late if we don't hurry!" Sakura cried. Sasuke _really _wanted to just thwack the girl on the head and say,

_- " No freakin' duh. That's why I woke you up. So you **wouldn't** be late.'_ But Sasuke knew that was out-of-character for him. So he kept it to himself.

- "Hey Sasuke-kun? Where and Kakashi-sensei and Naruto?"

- "Their waiting for you at the hospital. They left me here to wake you and bring you there." Sakura nodded and the two began their walk towards the hospital. Complete tranquility hang over the two ninja as they made their way to the hospital. That was, until they found Ino. Or to be more exact; Ino found them.

- "Sasuke-kun!" She squealed, latching on to him. An annoyed look became present on his face. Glancing around, she found Sakura who was next to them, standing patiently. "Sasuke-kun! What are you doing with Billboard Brow over there?!"

- "I'm sorry _Ino_, but I can't fight today. Sasuke-kun and I have to go somewhere." Ino gazed at Sakura before she gasped, jumping off of Sasuke (who inwardly sighed in relief) and stared accusingly at the two.

- "Don't tell me you two are going on a **date**?!" She screeched. Sakura flushed a dark maroon while Sasuke hid his face to hide his own light pink blush. (A/N: Finally! Some Sasu/Saku fluff! If you're wondering, it's 'cause Sasuke's blushing at the though of going on a date with Sakura.) Sakura smiled sadly at her best friend/rival.

- "No Ino. We're not. But seriously, we have to go. See you around." Sakura flashed Ino another small, sorrowful smile before she and Sasuke continued on their way. Ino didn't even put up a fight as she stared at her proclaimed rival with puzzlement.

_'What has happened to you Sakura?'_

Once again, Sasuke and Sakura were walking in-sync towards the hospital. Silence also loomed over again. Sakura apprehensively twiddled her fingers, anxious about the treatment. Sasuke noticed this within the corner of his eye and decided to do something about it in his own Sasuke-like way. So, he halted all together, catching the attention of his companion.

- "Sasuke-kun? Is there something wrong?" Sasuke spun around so that he was now facing her, eye-to-eye. He then embraced her in a gentle hug, startling her immensely and causing her to blush a pale red.

- "S-sasuke..What-" He interrupted her with a hushed whisper.

_- "Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine."_

But as soon as the hug began, it vanished and Sakura felt the cool air on her skin instead of Sasuke's warmth. The pink was still evident on her features as she stood there, dumbstruck. She had not even noticed Sasuke began walking on without her. Or that she was late for her appointment.

"Catch up," he called, which snapped her out of her daze.

- "Coming!" She caught up with him and they began their stroll once more. The hospital came into view after a few minutes and they entered it silently. Naruto was the first to notice their arrival.

- "You're late!" he declared. The doctor and Kakashi gazed at the two before smiling warmly at them.

- "Ah. So you're finally here. I see my habits have been rubbing off on you two, ne?" Kakashi mused. Neither ninja responded. The doctor cleared his throat before speaking.

- "Now that you're finally here, Sakura-san, would you liked to get started?"

- "Ano...before we start, I have a few questions." Sakura asked, nervous.

- "Why, yes, of course." The doctor replied warmly, his nut-brown eyes shining with understanding. (A/N I put that last sentence there so you would know the doctor is a guy. That's all.)

- "...How long will this take?"

- "Twenty minutes at the most. But I don't know for sure." He replied.

- "And one more question, "She paused to organize her thoughts before proceeding.

- "What is the treatment exactly? And its side effects?"

- "Right now, we're going to use radiation on you're brain to make sure their is no recurrence of leukemia there. We'll do this for about two sessions just to make sure. Later on, we'll use IV therapy continually to get rid of the leukemia. When we first start the IV therapy, I'll inject you through a syringe with an attached hollow needle into your volar forearm, or the vein that is visible on your wrists." Sakura flinched but said nothing. "We'll be doing this once a week every three weeks. We can do it here in the waiting room if you want. Afterwards, you'll be put on an intravenous drip and receive it that way. If all goes well, you should only have to use the intravenous drip once a week until the leukemia has vanished completely. You would get an occasional check up every once-in-a-while to make sure the leukemia's not coming back. Other than that, you would be a completely healthy Kunoichi again. The only side-effect is through the radiation; which will cause your hair to fall out. Anymore questions?" Silence. But Naruto jumped up, determined.

- "Sakura-chan will get through this! Just you wait! She'll be healthy in no time! Right Sakura-chan?" Sakura stared at him in awe before a grin of her own came upon her face.

- "Right."

- "So if you'd come with me, we'll began the treatment." She nodded and followed the doctor; only turning around to flash her friends a smile. Kakashi and Naruto returned it warmly while Sasuke smirked. She then vanished behind the large double doors. As soon as she left, Kakashi's grin faltered as he stared at the double doors.

_'I hope you're right Naruto. I really do.'_

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. It was from a stupid writer's block (damn you writer's block!) and I wasn't really motivated to write, either. But, I forced myself and this chapter was created! I'm also happy that I got some Sasu/Saku in this chapter.

If you're wondering why Sakura hadn't coughed up _any _blood or passed out during the entire _six pages _of the chapter, well, here's why: I don't want Sakura sick in _all _the chapters, I mean, wouldn't that get kind of boring if she coughed up blood and ended up at the hospital _every _chapter? And I want her to enjoy life too, you know. So there's my reasoning. If it wasn't clear, that was Kakashi thinking at the end. Don't forget to review!


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